Affiliate marketing business Acroud reported a year-on-year increase in revenue and net profit for the first quarter of its 2022 financial year, with further growth forecast for the remainder of the year.
Revenue for the 12 months through to 31 March 2022 amounted to €7.0m (£5.9m/$7.3m), up 25.0% from €5.6m in the same period last year.
Acroud said this year-on-year increase was driven by organic growth during the period as well as its acquisition of affiliate business The Gambling Cabin in April last year.
Revenue from the igaming affiliation business reached €3.0m, up 7.1% on last year, while the software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment generated €4.0m in revenue, an increase of 42.9% from Q1 of 2021.
Acroud also noted 5.5% increase in the number of new depositing customers (NDCs) during the quarter to 33,538. This, the group said, was driven by both its igaming affiliation and SaaS segments, with new depositing customers across these areas rising 4% and 7%, respectively.
Turning to costs, operating expenses were up, mainly due to costs related the purchase of The Gambling Cabin. External expenses increased 31.4% to €4.6m, but personnel costs were reduced by 10.4% to €918,000, while other operating expenses reached €45,000.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at €2.2m for the quarter, up 57.1%, while after including €567,000 worth of depreciation and amortisation costs, this left an operating profit of €1.7m, up 54.7% year-on-year.
Costs related to financial items amounted to €412,000, meaning pre-tax profit was €1.3m, an increase of 58.3% on last year. Acroud paid €85,000 in income tax during Q1, leaving it with a net profit of €1.2m, up 64.9% from €748,000 in 2021.
“We have developed Acroud from a conventional player with comparison sites to a fast-moving challenger in the space of not only igaming affiliation but also B2B SaaS solutions,” Acroud chief executive Robert Andersson said.
“Representing renewed stability and profitability, Q1 2022 has been a solid quarter of harvesting the fruits of the strategic steps and well-executed plans implemented in the previous year; although admittedly it took longer than all of us wanted.
“With a leaner and more agile team, the knowledge, assets, and cost base we have now in place, I’m excited to see that we have reached the desirable foundation to accelerate revenue growth and return to consistently positive performance.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the year and beyond, Acroud repeated its aim to generate between €8.0m and €10.0m in 2022. The group said it will aim to continue to grow EBTIDA organically by an average of 20% a year between the 2023 and 2025 financial years.
